Wakefield has been hurt since early August and ineffective since
late August. His career record in the postseason is not good, and his
career postseason earned-run average against the Indians is 15.57 - 15
earned runs in 8-2/3 innings.

Beckett, at age 27, has established himself as one of the best
big-game pitchers in the sport.

"If you set up the series," Francona said yesterday,
explaining the decision to go with Wakefield tonight, "if we
don't think that it's the better thing to do, then it
doesn't become the better thing to do. There are lots of things
that make us a better team doing it this way."

Beckett has started on three days' rest twice in his major
league career, both times while pitching for the Marlins. Most famously,
he started on Oct. 25, 2003, and shut out New York in Yankee Stadium to
win Game 7 of World Series. In 2004, at the end of the regular season,
Beckett went seven innings and allowed four hits, a run, two walks and
struck out eight in a victory over the Expos.

No matter, Francona is not about to budge in his choice of starting
pitchers tonight.

"From where I sit," he said, "it doesn't put
our team in a better position to win. The circumstances don't apply
to what happened five years ago. Our whole team sets up better this
way."

Even recently, Red Sox starters have worked on short rest. In the
2004 ALCS, Francona used Derek Lowe to start Game 7 of the ALCS on two
days' rest and Lowe pitched brilliantly for six innings in
Boston's 10-3 victory.

This is just Game 4, though, and the Sox can come back with Beckett
for Game 5 no matter what happens, so circumstances aren't quite as
desperate as in '04.

The possibility exists that tonight could be Wakefield's last
appearance in a Red Sox uniform. He is not signed for next year, and is
playing under a perpetual option that gives Boston the right to sign him
or not at the end of each season. But given that he had 17 wins this
year and pitched 189 innings, the chances are pretty good he will be
asked back.

"I'd love to come back next year," Wakefield said,
"but they haven't had that conversation with me, and
that's in the hands of the Red Sox."

One question mark heading into tonight, and even extending into the
future, is the condition of Wakefield's right shoulder. He had put
together a string of excellent starts in August, one of the best such
extended streaks of his career, when suddenly it all stopped and he had
to shut things down for a week.

He returned after missing just one start, but was never the same.
Neither he nor the Sox talked much about the soreness in his shoulder,
and in fact both parties said during September that it was fine when it
was not.

Yesterday, though, Wakefield was in a more expansive mood and
discussed his injury.

"I think it just happened," he said. "I can't
remember when it started bothering me, but it bothered me for two or
three starts (before the missed one). I think I pitched in Chicago. The
day after Chicago, I was in a lot of pain, tried to get ready for my
next start, and actually came to the park that day expecting to pitch,
and that was the day I missed the start and couldn't do it.

"There's nothing structurally wrong with anything. I just
think it's wear and tear, and I can't pinpoint exactly what
caused it to start hurting. I know it just hurt. I wish we would have
known what caused it, but we couldn't figure it out."

One factor in Wakefield's favor tonight could be that he did
not face the Indians during the regular season, and his knuckleball
could have more of a novelty effect against a team that hasn't seen
him before.

And the way he finished the regular season, and the way he
generally has pitched in the postseason, a strong start would be a
novelty, period - but one the Red Sox and Francona would welcome.

NAME: BOSTON RED SOX

ART: PHOTO

PHOTOG: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CUTLINE: Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia leaps to make a
throw, but fails to complete a fifth-inning double play.

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